For most of us, haptic feedback takes two forms - a vibrating phone in your pocket alerting you to an incoming message and key stroke vibrations when typing a text message/playing a game on your smart device. This though, is a shame because as Apple and Google engineers know, haptic feedback could be and should be used for so much more.

On the level of global commerce, we are addicted to devices. By the start of 2015, it is estimated there will be 3 billion Android devices in circulation around the world. Of those, there are roughly 19,000 distinct devices in operation. On the same accord, there are roughly 550 million active iOS devices globally with another few hundred million being phased out. As a global culture we love our mobile devices. Yet here is the thing, by all measures, our devices aren't all that secure. In both data and physicality, our devices have an operational tendency to betray us.

This said, a question: what is more worrisome, mobile data security risks or mobile device physical security risks?

It's very easy, after reading "The Snappening" Snapchat security breach news, to determine fault lies with users. It would be very easy and convenient to blame the leak not on the leakers, but on the users who sent sexually explicit materials to friends, lovers and strangers. This conclusion is easy to draw yet, it only skims the surface of the true issue at hand.

Whatever you think of the materials leaked, the larger issue at play in "The Snappening" is how the public relates to, understands and uses public Internet architectures. If anything, "The Snappening" should serve as a beacon call for greater Internet security practice enlightenment.

In this version of "How the Internet Works" we cover public Cloud architectures and the need for increased Internet security practices learning.

My family and I had a meal in Pigeon Forge, in an old mill building
that's quite old, in an area settled in 1830. Walking in with a MacBook
Pro certainly seemed odd to some, but no one noticed my phone offering
tethering rights. And so it was that I posted a blog in a building that
dated back 160 or more years ago.

I’m outside the Cades Cove visitor’s center, hearing acoustical
instruments like bangos and hammered dulcimers play. I have my MacBook
Pro, alive—charged and ready. My phone is charged and ready and has a
tethering plan, just begging to be used.

With today's "connected life" running 24/7, we recognize it's hard to keep up with all your favorite websites and tech resources. The IT List is here to help you cut through the noise. Check back each Friday for a quick digest of articles, resources, promotions, and other goodies worth a first or second look on InformIT.

With today's "connected life" running 24/7, we recognize it's hard to keep up with all your favorite websites and tech resources. The IT List is here to help you cut through the noise. Check back each Friday for a quick digest of articles, resources, promotions, and other goodies worth a first or second look on InformIT.